As if boxing needed further reasons for casual fans to give up entirely on the sport, former pound-for-pound great Roy Jones Jr. returns to the ring after a savage knockout loss to Denis Lebedev. Jones Jr., 42, is coming off three straight losses. 

To add a few extra branches on the ugly tree that this story can collide with on the way down, he's fighting Max Alexander in his scheduled 10-round cruiserweight bout in December. Max who? You don't need to worry; horrifyingly, Jones Jr. is characterizing his upcoming match as a tune up. Can you feel the excitement rising in you for what lies ahead? I know I can. 

At this point, I have roughly the same enthusiasm continuing to watch Jones Jr.'s career unfold as tying my cat to some train tracks waiting to see just what might happen. 

Due to fears about the boxer's health, Jones Jr.'s sought and received a clean bill of health issued after a visit to the Mayo Clinic. According to the Mayo Clinic's exhaustive testing, Jones Jr. was in "perfect condition" and fit to fight.

No word if any of the doctors at the clinic took an opportunity to watch any of Jones Jr.'s recent fights. Something tells me they may have failed to explore that minor avenue of exploration. I'm also curious whether Jones Jr. desire to continue fighting could be deemed sufficient legal grounds as a litmus test for a person's sanity. 

From various accounts I've read, Jones Jr. doesn't want to go out on a loss. It seems he's infinitely more willing to risk death in the ring than to stain his legacy. Or, perhaps, the money issue is plaguing him and he has little choice but to continue fighting to pay his bills. 

Jones Jr. long ago promised he would not end up this way. He saw it coming a mile off and assured reporters and fans alike he would never overstay his welcome. He didn't want to become this generation's Muhammad Ali.

In both senses of invoking Ali's career, Jones Jr. has kept his word. There have been no great successes remotely on par with Ali's late career, and Jones Jr. is well on his way to becoming a far more grave cautionary tale. 

Now, Alexander is 0-5-1 in his last six fights. He's not much of a threat given any measure of assessment. But the idea that Jones Jr.'s recent fights, Lebedev's chilling knockout most of all, are indication enough that he needs to step away or be forcibly banned from putting his life at risk further inside a ring. 

If boxing has any semblance of a remaining judgement or sense of self-preservation toward its own future, it should take a good hard look at the continuing career of Roy Jones Jr. The life-blood of boxing is the fighters to come. You can bet they're watching Roy's career and thinking to themselves, "Why on earth would I ever participate in a sport this cruel?"

Jones Jr.'s life has turned into a mean joke from top to bottom. Funny how boxing keeps offering the same punchline with so many of its greats. From the Mayo Clinic, Jones Jr. receiving a license to box, anyone training him, the promoters, his friends and family allowing this to continue, and whatever permitted the desperation or hubris to allow Jones Jr. to delude himself into thinking he shouldn't bow out before it's too late.

The wake up call arrived several years ago. We all heard it loud and clear. Guess who didn't?